Alfred was awakened by the sound of his alarm clock. He knocked his clock off the night stand while trying to shut it off. Was it time for class already? He rolled over, dislodging his cat, Tony, to the floor. The movement caused his stomach to churn and he ran to the bathroom just making it in time to empty the contents of his stomach into the toilet. Not going to class today. He washed his mouth out and then went to go find his phone. It wasn't where he usually had it. He stumbled into the living room, tripping over the cat in the process, and called his brother from the house phone.

"Hey, Mattie, I'm sick. Call my Prof for me and tell her I can't present today." Alfred instructed.

"What's this? Mr. Never-Even-Had-A-Cold is actually sick?" Mathew teased.

"Maattttiieee." Alfred whined, "I don't feel good. You're making it worse."

"Okay, okay. I'll call her, but you better really be sick. I'm coming over for proof. Oh! How was Valentine's Day?" Mattie queried.

"…"

"Alfred, you still there?"

"I'm still here. I don't remember. This is so weird. I don't remember anything from yesterday."

"I'll be over in a bit; we can talk more when I get there. Bye."

"Bye."

After hanging up, Alfred called Amelia's cell. It went straight to voicemail. He called her home phone but her roommate answered.

"Hey, Angie, can I talk to Amelia?"

"Non, she is not here. I thought she was at your house." Angelique said with worry evident in her voice.

"No, and I can't remember any of last night. I think we might have gone drinking or something. I'm really sick right now."

"Oh! Well I'm sure she probably crashed at Maria or Madeline's apartments. That happens sometimes when we go out drinking. She'll turn up at the closest friend's home and stay until she sobers up. Better than her trying to drive home that metal death machine." Angelique reasoned.

"I guess that makes sense. We've only drank together at people's houses before, so I wouldn't know. Please call me back when you find her." Alfred said his goodbyes and hung up.

He reckoned that he was actually hung over. He had never been hung over before, but from how his friends acted after drinking, he imagined it was pretty terrible. He got up and started searching for his phone. He looked in all the obvious places, like on the counter or behind the bed. It wasn't there so he started searching around the living room. He found a hamburger shaped hat under the couch and what was supposed to be Amelia's present behind the couch. It was already unwrapped and the tape and stuff cut off. She had opened it already, he guessed. And the hat must have been her present to him. He put it on his head while he continued looking. He just could not find the damn thing. He even tried looking in goofy places that only a drunk would put a phone like in the toilet tank or in the freezer. Not long after that, Mathew came over bearing gifts of hot soup and apple juice.

"So, give me the down low. What exactly happened?" Mathew handed Alfred a Styrofoam cup of soup and started sipping his own while rolling his eyes at Alfred's choice of headgear.

"I have no earthly idea. I just remember Amelia was going to figure out what she wanted to do for yesterday and I had her gift wrapped up and hidden behind the couch and I must have cleaned or something. It looks really clean in here. Don't remember anything else from yesterday. Nothing. Not where we went or what we did. I thought maybe I had gotten drunk out of my mind or something, but I would still remember stuff from before I started drinking heavy."

"Yeah, that's very worrying. Do you think you might have hit your head or something? Caused more brain damage?"

"Mattie, this is serious. Now I can't get a hold of Amelia. Her roommate hasn't seen her and thinks she crashed at someone's house. What if something bad happened to her?"

"I'm sure she's fine. She's an adult. And she knows how to swing hard thanks to her wonderful boyfriend. Now drink your soup before it starts getting cold." Mathew took another sip of his own soup.

"Fine." Alfred gulped a bunch down even though it was still pretty hot. Mathew marveled at his brother's dragon-like esophagus, capable of withstanding extreme temperatures. Before Mathew could take another sip of his soup, Alfred jumped up and ran to the kitchen and vomited in the sink.

"Wow, you are sick." Mathew noted that there was nothing in the vomit but the soup, meaning that Alfred's stomach was completely empty.

"Told ya." Alfred wiped his face on a paper towel and rinsed the sink out.

"That's definitely not hangover vomit." Mathew comment.

"I don't get hangovers. And neither do you. I must have got a bug or-"

"Or this is a result of brain damage. I think we should take you to the hospital and get you checked out."

"No! I don't wanna! I hate hospitals! All the sick people. Being sick."

"Well what do you think you are? Sick. If you had a bit of a fever or were acting all weak, I'd think this was just a bug. Because that's how people with a stomach bug act, but you're acting completely normal except you can't remember anything and you can't keep anything down. Brain Damage." Mathew tried to think of ways he could persuade his OLDER brother to go see a doctor. Perhaps he could buy him one of those dino burgers that they gave prizes to people for finishing.

"I don't have a bump anywhere. I don't have a scratch on me. You can't make me go." Alfred countered.

"Oh, you're going. Even if I have to get Ned or Carlos to help me."

"No! I don't want your druggie friends at my house getting their hippie germs on all my stuff! I'll go if you buy me the largest burger I can find."

"Deal. Come on, I'll drive."

They rode to the hospital in Mathew's hippie Prius. Mathew drove like an old person and not the kind that live on the edge and/or are too confused to obey the law. In what it would have taken Amelia to get there in 15 minutes, took them 45. When they finally got there, they checked in at the ER. Alfred didn't appear to be about to die so they were forced to wait for almost 2 hours before getting in to see anybody. The nurse lady took all his vitals and measured him. She took them to a side room to wait some more. Alfred soon got bored and started making fun of all the posters in there. When the doctor arrived, she took a few more tests to see if anything was up. When she went to test his pupils she paused.

"Your eyes are dilating oddly." She flashed the little light in both his eyes several times.

"He says he can't remember a lot of things from yesterday and he can't seem to keep any food down. I thought maybe he hit his head or something." Mathew explained as if Alfred weren't there or was a child.

"Oh, that's very serious." She felt around his scalp for a bump or an abrasion. She found nothing.

"I don't feel anything, but that doesn't mean you didn't take a hit at some time. I believe it's a concussion. He needs to be monitored for the next few days to see if the symptoms worsen. When he goes to sleep, make sure to wake him every few hours to make sure he hasn't slipped into a coma. I'll prescribe him with some nausea medication and pain killers if his head starts hurting." She spoke back to Mathew as if Alfred were again, not there or a child.

"Okay, thank you so much." Mathew took the paper, and Alfred, and went to the front desk to hand it to the secretary.

Once they went to pick up Alfred's medicine they went back to his house.

"I guess I'm staying here for a while. I'm about to go get some clothes and go to class, don't die on me please." Mathew explained after dropping Alfred off.

"Okay, Okay. I'll be sure to only die when you're here."

After Mathew left, Alfred fed Tony and snuggled on the couch with him to watch some cartoons. Alfred tried to take the nausea pills, but threw them right back up. He reckoned it was because of the drink he took them with, but not even with water could he keep them down. He would consult Mattie about this later.

When Mathew returned, Alfred had covered all the windows with blankets and was sitting, huddled up with the cat, in front of the TV.

"I think this is a bit unnecessary. Are you watching scary movies again?"

"No."

"Why are there blankets on the windows? Let me just-"

"No! The light hurts my eyes! Stop!" Alfred covered his head and practically hissed.

"I've only been gone for 3 hours. How did you turn the living room into a creature cave in that short a time?"

"I started getting a headache but it went away when I covered my eyes. It was the bright light."

"Why didn't you take those pain killers?"

"I couldn't keep em down."

"What about the other pills?"

"Them neither."

"You can try again in a little bit. What are you watching all wrapped up like that?" Mathew sat on the couch behind him and pulled out his laptop to check his social media.

"Cartoons. Spiderman." Alfred stroked his cat while focusing back on the TV.

"Of course you are."

Mathew was scrolling down his Facebook, when some local gossip caught his eye. It wasn't very clear, but it seemed relevant.

"Hey, Alfred, can you turn it to the news station? They found some bodies in the park. That one you and Amelia always go to."

Alfred quickly changed it. The news report didn't have much to say either. There were about 5 bodies found that looked as if they had been torn to shreds by some wild animal. The park was off limits until further notice.

"You don't think. . ." Mathew started, looking at Alfred.

They rode to the police station to see if they had anything more and on the way Alfred called Angelique back to ask about Amelia. She still hadn't found her. When they arrived Mathew asked for more information on the bodies found. The man behind the desk told them that he couldn't disclose that kind of information until they knew more.

"My girlfriend's been missing for a day. It's killing me not knowing if she's okay. Please." Alfred begged him. The man rustled some papers and handed Alfred a missing person's form, looked around to see if anyone was listening, and quietly told him, "All of the bodies were male."

Alfred thanked him before filling out everything he could. After that, they drove around some of their usual haunts to see if anyone had seen her. Nothing. It was beyond late by this point and most places had closed. The ride home was in silence. Alfred had a horrible feeling about all of this. She had gone off with her friends for extended periods before, but she always told him before hand. She didn't leave him worrying like this. She could be at one of her friends' houses recuperating from a wild night and just lazing about. She could be doing anything she wanted, but with Alfred's loss of memory and feeling so bad, it didn't sit right with him. He just wanted his best friend to be safe and happy.

Alfred barely slept that night. He was really worried about Amelia, but he was mostly really hungry. He wanted a hamburger so bad. This was the longest he'd gone without one that he could remember. He was Jonesing for one you could say. He would try to eat again tomorrow.

The soup still wouldn't stay down. Neither would the medicine. Alfred was about to lose it. He could feel himself wasting away. Over 24 hours without food! How was he even alive?

"Mattieeeee. Matt Matt. Maaaaaaatttieeee. Matt Matt. Matt Maaaaatttt." Alfred poked his brother with his foot while pestering him.

"What." Mathew didn't even look up from the book he was reading.

"Get me some hamburgers please."

"You can't keep soup down. How are you going to eat a hamburger?"

"I just want them near me. They give me strength. They will heal me."

"Do you even know what you sound like?"

"Please."

"Fine, but I'm not cleaning up after you when I get proven right."

While Mathew went to McDonald's, Alfred went to the bathroom and tried to go. He hadn't used the bathroom once since that memory gap and he figured it was because he hadn't been able to eat or drink anything. He still couldn't go. He didn't really feel the need, but it was still so strange not going during his regular schedule. He knew that he probably should tell his brother because it could be something serious, but it wasn't his top priority right now.

After that, he fed and watered Tony and scooped the litter before cuddling up with said cat on the couch. He emailed his professors that he was still sick and he felt a light headache growing. He knew it couldn't be from light this time, because the windows were still covered, leaving a lamp as the only beacon in the darkness for Mathew. He tried calling Amelia's phone again, like he'd done almost every other hour, but he kept getting her answer machine. He felt really clingy and needy but he couldn't help it. He just knew something bad had happened. He tried to cheer himself up by watching some disturbing cartoon that was on one of the kid's stations and that's how Mathew found him when he returned.

"Here." Mathew passed him a bag filled with dollar menu burgers and sat to eat some pancakes he'd gotten for himself.

Alfred clutched the bag and just breathed in the smell. It smelled of grease, meat, and America. It felt like a life time since he'd eaten a burger. He could picture the wonderful beefy taste and immediately thought of all the wonderful memories associated with this delicious treat. His mouth watered at the thought and he tugged one out and stared at it. Would it stay down? With how greasy it was probably not. Did he care? Would it be worth it to eat a burger knowing it would come back up? Maybe. But maybe, just maybe, the magic of hamburgers would cure him and save his life. He quickly unwrapped it before he could change his mind and took a bite. It had no taste. It was as if his taste buds had shriveled up and died. He couldn't even swallow it. It tasted of earth and was foreign. He spit it back into the wrapper and broke out in tears. How could this be? Something was seriously wrong with him and it hit him so hard that he might die from this. He was going to die. He knew it. Only being terminally ill could keep him from enjoying burgers.

"Alfred?" Mathew noticed his brother was crying, "What's wrong?"

"I can't taste anymore Mattie. I'm going to die."

"Your taste buds are probably fried from all the throwing up you've been doing. It's not the end of the world. You just have to get better and it'll come back."

"But what if I don't get better? What if I'm stuck not being able to taste, like some tasteless person."

"I would make a joke about how looking at your house and clothing choices you are tasteless, but this is probably not the best time." Mathew set his food aside and pulled his crying brother into his arms for a hug. He thought it was silly that Alfred would cry over something like that, but he was probably seriously stressed from everything that was happening. Losing his memory of a whole day, being worried sick about his girlfriend, and not being able to eat were definitely taking a toll on Alfred. He also hadn't been able to sleep very well. Mathew had attempted to wake him every couple of hours to make sure he hadn't succumbed to the possible brain damage he had, but when he'd enter Alfred's room, Alfred would often times still be awake. When he had finally drifted off, Mathew had apologized profusely for having to wake him up. Mathew only hoped that his brother didn't snap and go wandering off while he was out.

"Thanks for being here Mattie." Alfred sniffled, "You smell really good by the way." Alfred nuzzled his neck.

"Um, okay. . . You're welcome Alfie, that's what brothers are for." Mathew awkwardly patted his back slightly offended by his comment. Mathew took it as sarcastic as he hadn't had a chance to bathe in a couple of days.

"I love you, Mattie." Alfred then proceeded to swipe a huge trail of snot down Mathew's shirt before running to the other side of the room.

"Alfred! That's so gross! Oh my God! Why would you do that!" Alfred found it hilarious watching his brother try to yell, he was naturally a really quiet person and could barely raise his voice to what would be considered yelling. Alfred laughed and then was cut off by a pillow smacking him hard in the face. Mathew then proceeded to tell him off for being immature and a complete pig.

"Mattie, I've learned my lesson. I'll be sure to run farther away next time."

At that Mathew gave up and picked up his book he'd been working on reading while being here. His uncultured brother watched TV and played video games like it was a sport. He knew his brother usually worked out, went to class and work, and hung out with his friends, but he couldn't do all that being sick. Even when he could do all that, he still watched an insane amount of TV and would stay up all night playing video games. An hour or so later, Mathew started getting ready for his classes. He didn't know why he had given himself all afternoon and night classes this semester, because he wasn't the type to stay up all night and sleep all day. Next semester would definitely be different! Mathew did homework for about another hour and then left, instructing Alfred to work on his homework so he wouldn't be too far behind and to try not to die while he was gone.

The second Mathew left, Alfred wrapped himself in some blankets on the floor and started playing a game. He was so hungry. It had been like 2 days since he'd eaten. He was trying to distract himself from the hunger with games. If he hadn't started feeling weak, he would have walked out and gone searching for Amelia. He was sure that if he asked more people, he would find someone who had seen her or at least some people who had seen what they'd done Valentine's night. He couldn't get Mathew to do it for him. Mathew was already doing a lot for him. He focused on the game. It was a zombie killing game and he was beasting at it. He'd always joked around with his friends that he would be ready if the zombie apocalypse ever happened and they'd always laugh and say only because he'd run away the fastest.

After a particularly challenging foe, Alfred took a break to pet Tony. The cat was so finicky. He only wanted to be petted at the most inopportune times. He rubbed his head against Alfred's face and then quickly turned around so that his butt was in the way, as cats like to do for some strange and gross reason. Alfred had picked up a whiff of that same yummy scent he had smelled on Mathew. He pulled the cats face back and inhaled. Yes. It was coming from Tony's neck. What was that? It smelled almost as good as hamburgers. Almost. Alfred felt something shifting in his mouth and new shapes pressing against his tongue. Before he could question it, he blacked out.

When he came to his senses, he witnessed one of the most heart wrenching of sights. His beloved cat was lying in a pool of his own blood, his throat ripped out. Alfred let out a cry and went to cover his mouth in horror only to see blood covering his hands and his front. There was still a metallic taste in his mouth. He had eaten his cat! Alfred wanted to throw up. So badly. But for once he didn't have to throw up. He had to call Mathew. Something was horribly wrong. He needed to fix this. This couldn't be real. He had to-before he could finish the thought he was bludgeoned across the head and knocked out cold.

AN: I don't want to become one of those fanfic writers who are always apologizing, but yeah, sorry for taking so long to put up the next part. I'm in college and extremely busy right now. I just got finished with 3 projects, an anime con, and Halloween last week. This week I have 2 projects and an essay to do. Y'all are probably wondering how someone so old could be so bad at writing fics, but only a couple of years ago did my friends get me into reading them and I just never felt good enough to try to write them. I'm pretty decent at spewing out essays, so I thought I'd give it a try. Hope it was bearable.